November_2009 - Cooma Car Club

Spoke ‘n Wheels
November 2009
Motorfest Issue
Volume 8 Issue No 33
News Letter of the Cooma – Monaro Historic Automobile Club
Incorporating Membership in Cooma, the Monaro & the Alpine Towns of the Snowy Region
President Chris Reeks ph (02) 6452 …. Secretary MAX TALBOT . (02) 6453 3234 Treasurer Brian Farmer ph (02) 6456 2432
PO Box 758 COOMA NSW 2630 EMAIL: [email protected]
WEB www.coomacarclub.com.au
Links
http://www.actmotorclubs.org.au/ Council of ACT Motor Clubs
http://www.motoring.org.au/index.html Australian Historic Motoring Federation
http://www.councilofmotorclubs.org.au/default.php The Council of Motor Clubs NSW (City)
www.bushcouncil.com.au The Council of Motor Clubs NSW(Country)
http://www.aomc.asn.au/
Association of Motoring Clubs Victoria
Which one would YOU choose? Contributed by David King Melbourne Harley Earl and the 1938 Buick. Think about this. This picture was taken 71 years ago. 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt 1951 Buick LeSabre What would you give for this car now 1 1951 Chrysler K310 1954 Buick Wildcat 1954 Dodge FireArrow 1958 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser 1956 Ford Sunliner 1951 Studebaker Champion 1951 Hudson Hornet Back in the days when cars had style, and even with so many makes and models, all changing every year, they made a profit. This is when a car was a car..... And, not only that , but one could sit on the veranda and name the cars as they drove by, unlike today, when they all look the same. 2 Bay to Bermagui Car Rally ‐ 17‐19 July 2009 Charles Hodsdon There were 137 entries in the rally, some 120 odd cars; I guess that would leave 17 bikes which were supplemented by at least 20 additional cars in the cars on display at the Bermagui oval of car enthusiasts who had come to Bermagui for the day, this included Richard and Carol Robinson's Charger. The weather was perfect the whole of the weekend although very, very cold on the Saturday morning early. Some photos which I remember are the 1929 Studebaker of Tony and Judy Stove (SCHVC) which won 2 prizes, the 1st prize for best car and crew and also the best car as judged by all the participants in the rally. The rally had no major mishaps to my knowledge, the Saturday dinner and presentation night went off well. It was a very enjoyable weekend made especially so for Kate and I when we picked up the raffle prize of 2 nights accommodation at the Coach House Marina resort in a Spa Villa ‐ sounds good, to be taken up sometime in the next 12 months. 1929 Studebaker and a bunch of bikes Pictured above are an Austin 7 Meteor and Adrian Beauchamp’s Jaguar which was formerly a Cooma car. Below is a line up of at least 13 Rileys mostly 2 ½ litre models and a Citroen. There were also at least as many Jaguars as Rileys present on the day. 3 Are You too old to DRIVE this Car? NO JOKE! Presenting the New Mercedes Benz SCL600 What's different about this car? WHOA ! No Steering Wheel No Pedals either, You drive this car with a joystick . Do you think that you can drive with a joystick? Your kids and grandkids can. The influence of video games in our lives has really arrived, wouldn't you say? But there is more ! The SCARY THOUGHT is: NOW a 3‐YEAR‐OLD can STEAL your car "AND DRIVE IT BETTER THAN YOU CAN !" How things have changed over a short period of time, e.g. in 1977 you could purchase super petrol for only 15.3 cents per litre AND get a free car wash with any petrol! Try that these days! Question – What was the longest standing land speed record, only just recently broken? Answer – the 103 year old Steam driven car record………It was set in 1906 by Fred Mariott in a Stanley Steamer at Daytona Beach, reaching a record speed of 128 mph/206 km/ph. Not a bad pace, considering this year’s speed was an average of 4 224.99 km/ph in two separate runs, accomplished by a British team at Edwards Air Force base in California. Rev heads celebrated the 40th anniversary of the legendary Ford Falcon GT40 at the Muscle car Masters at Eastern creek recently.......thanks Bev & Rogan
100 Years ago! 1909 Federal Truck THE YEAR 1909 This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1909. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some statistics for the Year 1909 : The average life expectancy was 47 years. Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour. The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year ... A competent accountant could expect to 5 earn $2000 per year, A dentist $2,500 per year, A veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, A mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.. More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME. Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so‐called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard’. Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.. Five leading causes of death were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke The population of Las Vegas , Nevada was only 30 !! Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking?) Eighteen percent of households had at least one full‐time servant or domestic help. There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.! Now I'm copying this to someone else without typing it myself. By email it could be sent to others all over the WORLD ‐ all in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. IT STAGGERS THE MIND Goldfields Run 11‐14 September by Jann Neilson 6 Bright and early on Friday 11th September The participants were Pete & Marg Quodling in their Ford, Max & Darien Perry in their Subaru, Doug & Kerrie Arnold in the Volvo, Steve & Fran Redden in their Ford, Chris & Anne Blencowe in their Subaru, Rick & Kath Buckley in their Holden, Ron & Lorenza Knight in the Holden and John & Jann Neilson in the Falcon GT. , Before departure, minor repairs by a sparky, John Neilson sees the light! We were aware of the minor perils such as kangaroos and brumbies on the mountain and made it to Holbrook for morning tea to meet up with the Buckleys from Goulburn. The journey then took us on the new Hume Bypass at Albury, a fantastic piece of road, to our turn on to the Murray valley Highway. Well....... SOME of us saw the turnoff, but others proceeded on the highway towards Melbourne but finally realised their error and we thankfully all made it to a picnic lunch in Rutherglen. The countryside was a picture with green grass, fat stock and the wonderfully vivid yellow of the canola crops, a far cry from what we left on the Monaro. From Rutherglen we journeyed to a stop on the Murray River at Echuca to view the paddle steamers, of which Echuca has the largest fleet in the world, and cruise boats. We were unexpectedly treated to an onboard viewing of a million dollar cruiser here, which delighted us all. Our first overnight found us in Bendigo where we all enjoyed a dinner and fellowship in the wonderful old Shamrock Hotel, an icon in Bendigo built in the 1800s. After breakfast on Saturday we did the historic talking tram tour of Bendigo, viewed some restoration of early trams and the architecture and history of Bendigo. The old homes were a treat to see with the intricate iron lace work on the verandas and neat gardens. PS EMMYLOU at Echuca and a picnic along the way 7 A 1925 Fiat 501 C, with great grandson of the original owner, and traction engine at Echuca wharf. Leyland steam truck, wool wagon & Hart Parr tractor at Echuca wharf Our trip down to Ballarat took us through some beautiful countryside which included a lunch stop in the historic town of Maldon. We arrived in Ballarat by 2pm which enabled us to take a look at Sovereign Hill before the evening function. After a short happy hour with lots of laughs and sharing of nibblies and drinks we set off for the period dining room in the historic hotel for dinner, which was served by waitresses in period dress. We then proceeded to the light show, this being a highlight of the weekend and I think we learnt more about the Eureka Stockade than we ever did at school!! Absolutely fantastic and well worth the visit. 8 Scale model traction engine, Locomobile and 1930 Ford A model at Echuca wharf. A few showers greeted us on our return through the picturesque towns of Daylesford and Castlemaine, which made the stopover for a delicious hot chocolate and handmade chocolates at the Chocolate Mill even more enjoyable. The Midland Highway proved to be a beautiful drive and we all made it to Wangaratta for the night with a couple of cars hobbling home. One car just quite didn’t make it as it seems its driver didn’t calculate how far it would go on a tank of juice!! However it made for much elated dinner conversation, which we all enjoyed at a well known Cafe/Pizza restaurant in Wangaratta before turning in for an early night, Our trip home took many different courses with each car doing its own thing. Pete & Marg Quod finally found a new alternator and Doug & Kerrie found a new welsh plug and made it home at 10pm on Monday night via Canberra. All in all we had a fabulous trip and everyone remarked on the great time we had together. Forbes / Parkes Run, September – by Bev & Rogan with Popeye’s photos The trip to Forbes and Parkes was well worth the effort with 41 people all up, and the weather not too bad to start but becoming inclement gradually over the weekend, but this did not deter any of us from enjoying a great trip. We all met on Saturday morning to tour through McFeeter’s Motor Museum in Forbes, which turned out to be well worth the visit, the owner’s hospitality was very welcoming, together with a most informative chat about some of the magnificent vehicles on show. After lunch we travelled to ‘The Dish’ just 20 km north of Parkes. What an impressive sight from the main highway with the ‘Dish’ just sitting there on the flat plains. Up close, it was of course even more spectacular, and what a great information centre they have showing and explaining the workings of the ‘Dish’. Happy hour and dinner seemed to roll into one with lots of good laughs as always. Sunday, heading home, we did a quick tour of Chrysler museum in Grenfell, after which most of us went our own way, some finding other places of interest to visit. Ian Huggett’s Mercedes had some running repairs, and Phil Jamieson’s Holden had a fuel problem in Young, not too many casualties for twenty cars. 9 Inside the very impressive museum Rogan on duty The exhibit on the right is a 1930 Chrysler This is “the Dish” but who is Lyn talking to, using the parabolic reflector? 10 Above‐ Dinner party and Chrysler museum Monaro County Council / Country Energy 60th Anniversary 17 Oct 2009 by Bev & Rogan The car club decorated the hall with a lightning & snow theme, for the function, which was enjoyed by a large group of employees and ex – employees. Snowy Mountains Scheme 60th Anniversary 17 Oct 09 The ceremony to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of the Snowy Mountains Scheme was held in Adaminaby NSW on 17 October 2009. Members of both Southern Tablelands Club and CMHAC attended. Adaminaby school children dressed by Valmai Mylan in period costumes took the parts of the various dignitaries who attended the inauguration and read the speeches transcribed from original recordings. (Political speeches in 1949 were sometimes long but did not include as much waffle about my party did this and the other party failed to do that as we find in political speeches today – Editor) Albert Neuss of Southern Tablelands club brought this Chrysler that was originally used by Prime Minister Ben Chifley to travel to the Snowy inauguration in 1949. This was one of the last batch of civilian Chryslers built before America entered WW2. Albert has been to the factory and seen the “build sheets”, which show that the car was built with right hand drive – not converted. 11 Southern Tablelands cars and the interior of the Prime Ministerial Chrysler. Cooma Cars in Adaminaby & Phil Rye’s Snowy construction machinery on display at Berridale. Two Leylands, two Thorneycroft Antars of the type used for hauling all the Snowy Mountains Authority’s heavy loads, a Scammel Contractor & a Dodge or Fargo utility on display at Berridale NSW. Hot Rod Nearly 80 years ago the hot rodders were already amongst us! The photo on the left sent by Ian Willmott (Melbourne) shows a brass radiator Ford (1917 or earlier) with a two speed differential accessory. The 1926 Model T on the right, in the Ford Discovery Centre at Geelong has a Rajo overhead valve conversion, a Bosch ignition timer and a Ruckstell 2 speed diff all of which enabled it to reach a blindingly fast touring speed of 40 miles per hour (64 km/hr) that would probably not get you booked by radar in town today, but it 12 would get you from Cooma to Canberra, on today’s sealed road surfaces not the gravel tracks of the time, in about 2 hours. For Sale Ray Turner C/‐ PO Box 1690 Queanbeyan ph 02 6297 8759 has the following cars for sale. Two of these are former Cooma district cars. 1908 la Buire 4 cyl racing 1910 Leon Bollee 1934 Rover 12 1950 Austin A70 Hampshire with only nominal miles. The original owner died soon after he bought it. Test drive has not yet been arranged. Two slightly later model Austin A70 Herefords 13 Two of the 3 Austin A70s were originally from the Cooma area. The later A70s are both not running at present. The black car on the left is in better order than the green car on the tilt tray. 14